Teacher Fired Because She Was a Stripper During Summer Leave Gets $45,000 Settlement

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**Dreadclaw69**

http://news.yahoo.com/teacher-fired-just-because-she-stripper-gets-45-123621866.html

A western Michigan school district will shell out $45,000 to a former English teacher who had been fired after school officials learned that she had worked as a local stripper during a 2006 medical leave of absence.

West Ottawa Public Schools has agreed to pay the teacher, Susan Brennan, $37,000, reports WOOD-TV. Her attorney will get the remaining $8,000.

The Grand Rapids NBC affiliate obtained the dollar amounts and other information concerning the May settlement by filing a Freedom of Information Act request.

Brennan had reached an arrangement with school officials to avoid retaliation for her brief fling in the live adult-entertainment industry.

However, in a lawsuit filed in 2012, Brennan alleged that school officials started giving her negative reviews despite that agreement.

Brennan was fired in 2010 according to The Holland Sentinel. The West Ottawa school district charged with nearly a dozen infractions including dishonest grading and failure to use appropriate grading processes and lesson plans.

The teacher and ex-stripper created a webpage to respond to the district’s charges.

“Please consider my responses to these charges carefully before you vote to end the career of a dedicated, sincere teacher,” Brennan wrote on her webpage. “I moved to the West Ottawa district three years ago, my three children go to school here, I bought a house here — I have invested everything I have in my life here.”

“I take full responsibility for my actions regarding this matter. It was the single most disastrous, most humiliating, and most damaging mistake of my life,” she also wrote.

Brennan had plied her stripping talents at a Grand Rapids club called Sensations, according to MLive.com. Her stage name was “Adia.”

Tom Martin, the school district superintendent, said the settlement was financially prudent.

“What we did do was we settled to avoid an expensive, lengthy trial and bring closure to something that had been going on for a long, long time,” he told The Sentinel. “If we didn’t settle, then we would go through a trial that would be very costly.”

**Frazzled**

Should have been fired. If you can work when on medical leave you can attend your real job. Bye Bye.

**Ahtman**

Frazzled wrote:
Should have been fired. If you can work when on medical leave you can attend your real job. Bye Bye.

I would be curious what the context of that was, as that does seem a bit odd; medical doesn't have to mean physical, nor does it necessarily mean outright debilitation. It is very strange to be sure.

**Sigvatr**

Lead by example...looks like that lady never heard of it. Rightfullly fired.

**Kilkrazy**

If she was rightfully fired why did the court's decision go against the school?

Perhaps we do not know the whole story?

**Frazzled**

Kilkrazy wrote:
If she was rightfully fired why did the court's decision go against the school?

Perhaps we do not know the whole story?

UNION

**LuciusAR**

I'm disappointed by the lack of pictures accompanying this article.

**Sigvatr**

LuciusAR wrote:
I'm disappointed by the lack of pictures accompanying this article.

Yeah, I really want to see what that school looks like!

**yeri**

Honestly I think what this really shows is that we don't pay our teachers enough. If they have to turn to stripping to make ends meet, well shame on us. I know my English teacher my senior year made more money as a professional clown than she did teaching us. We trust the next generation to these people, and we should respect their important role in society.

**Frazzled**

If you can read this, thank your parents.

**Dreadclaw69**

The article I linked to does link on to a webpage that she set up in response to the allegations, apologies I should have linked this on myself. I only looked at her responses so exercise your own discretion before clicking - http://susanbrennan.yolasite.com/

I was NOT on a medical leave. Summer break is not contractual work time. As well, anytime I've been absent over the sick days we are given was unpaid.

**PredaKhaine**

As I understand this - she wasn't fired because she stripped. According to her website, they fired her for a list of other reasons a lot later - some of the reasons from her perspective seem flimsy.

If they were going to fire her for stripping, they should have done it at the time. Not let her off and then try to fire her a lot later on some pretext - the statement below was interesting.

"I was given assurances that I would face no further retaliatory action with regard to this situation. I am deeply concerned that it has once again been raised as relevant to the current situation. It seems to clearly demonstrate an attempt to, as Dr. Koeze stated to our union president, “…do what Rosemary Ervine was not able to do” by terminating my employment."

Given the school paid up, it was probably a combination of the following.
1)It happened as she said, or it was difficult to prove it didn't.
2)the school thought it was the lesser of two evils in that a court case would've cost more.

The title should've read 'Incorrectly fired teacher gets $45,000 settlement'

**Alfndrate**

Frazzled wrote:
If you can read this, thank your parents.

wut duz dis say?

**PredaKhaine**

wurdz an fings.

**Rented Tritium**

Ok, so having read the story, it appears that the school trumped up a bunch of unrelated charges to get her fired because they didn't like that she stripped over the summer, which I would put firmly in the category of "not their business".

**Frazzled**

PredaKhaine wrote:
wurdz an fings.

n stUf

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Rented Tritium wrote:
Ok, so having read the story, it appears that the school trumped up a bunch of unrelated charges to get her fired because they didn't like that she stripped over the summer, which I would put firmly in the category of "not their business".

This whole issue puts Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher" Into a completely new context.

**PredaKhaine**

Rented Tritium wrote:
Ok, so having read the story, it appears that the school trumped up a bunch of unrelated charges to get her fired because they didn't like that she stripped over the summer, which I would put firmly in the category of "not their business".

Agreed.

It also took them 4 years to fire her.

**kronk**

That sounds like 4 years of harassment until they found enough dirt on her to fire her.

Either that, or she was a gakky teacher and she's making gak up.

**Dreadclaw69**

PredaKhaine wrote:
Agreed.

It also took them 4 years to fire her.

That was how long it took to get $45,000 in singles to make it rain

**timetowaste85**

One of the teachers in my old school (now retired) owns the only strip club in town. It's common knowledge that she owns it, it's considered a blight on the town, and she never got in trouble. Of course, she retired 12 years ago. A lot has changed in that time....

**Frazzled**

Well as long as she wasn't claiming some sort of worker's comp or other claim for medical reasons then cool. I think there's a lot here, but don't really care.

**PredaKhaine**

kronk wrote:

Either that, or she was a gakky teacher and she's making gak up.

But then why did they pay out?

Even if it's not the case, it does make them look guilty.

**kronk**

PredaKhaine wrote:
kronk wrote:

Either that, or she was a gakky teacher and she's making gak up.

But then why did they pay out?

Even if it's not the case, it does make them look guilty.

They may have improperly terminated her, in violation of her contract. Also, it's sometimes easier to just pay and be done with something. I'm not speculating that this is the case, though.

**PredaKhaine**

kronk wrote:
PredaKhaine wrote:
kronk wrote:

Either that, or she was a gakky teacher and she's making gak up.

But then why did they pay out?

Even if it's not the case, it does make them look guilty.

They may have improperly terminated her, in violation of her contract. Also, it's sometimes easier to just pay and be done with something. I'm not speculating that this is the case, though.

Fair enough.

**Rented Tritium**

Yeah, I'm not crazy enough to say there's no chance she's lying. Schools are generally pretty quick to pay out and get things done with either way.

**kronk**

Her webpage just shows a headshot, so I can't tell how hot she is. Also, no video of her dancing.

<--- Disappointed.

**Grundz**

Frazzled wrote:
Kilkrazy wrote:
If she was rightfully fired why did the court's decision go against the school?

Perhaps we do not know the whole story?

UNION

A union of judges?

**ImotekhTheStormlord**

kronk wrote:
Her webpage just shows a headshot, so I can't tell how hot she is. Also, no video of her dancing.

<--- Disappointed.

Only on the internet.

**CthuluIsSpy**

Not possible. Rule 34 disallows it.

**Easy E**

yeri wrote:
I know my English teacher my senior year made more money as a professional clown than she did teaching us.

The jokes write themselves here folks.

Edit: Also, raise your hand if you think a Strip Club is a blight on a town!